The wavelet analysis was used to analyze the characteristics of cultivated per capita ecological footprint change and the driving forces of this change from 1961 to 2005 in China. The results showed: (1) Chinas per capita ecological footprint had 3a , 7a and 23a characteristic time scales and corresponding changes from the figures of the wavelet coefficients, and the 23a period is especially prominent; (2) The turning points of the changes were presented in the years of 1966, 1979, 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2004; (3) It was founded that government policies, national economic development, technology, and natural disasters are the main factors, which led to the cultivated Chinas per capita ecological footprint fluctuation; (4) Whether at the bigger scale or at the smaller scale, Chinas per capita ecological footprint seems to be decreasing in the recent years from the analysis of the figures of the wavelet coefficients. Therefore, the sustainable development of China should be better in future.